A depiction of Napoleon making some of the first awards of the Légion d'honneur, at a camp near Boulogne on 16 August 1804.

The Legion of Honour, or, in full, the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)[1] is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 May 1802. The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).

In the French Revolution, all French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul and de facto military dictator, to create a reward to commend civilians and soldiers and from this wish was instituted a Légion d'Honneur,[3] a body of men that was not an order of chivalry, for Napoleon believed France wanted a recognition of merit rather than a new system of nobility. The Légion however did use the organization of old French Orders of Chivalry, like the Ordre de Saint-Louis. The badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint Louis, which also used a red ribbon.

The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman Legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional "cohorts" and a grand council. The highest rank was not a grand cross but a grand aigle (great eagle), a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously:

Napoleon famously declared, "You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led… Do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning? Never. That is good only for the scholar in his study. The soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards."[4] This has been often quoted as "It is with such baubles that men are led."

The order was the first modern order of merit. The orders of the monarchy were often limited to Roman Catholics and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers. The Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions. Only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion.

It is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The jewel of the Légion has five arms.

In a decree issued on the tenth PluvioseXIII (30 January 1805), a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a large sash and a silver star with an eagle, became known as the Grand Aigle (French for "Grand Eagle"), and later in 1814 as the grand cordon ("large sash"). After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, award of the Légion gave right to the title of "Knight of the Empire" (chevalier de l'empire). The title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees.

Napoleon had dispensed 15 golden collars of the legion among his family and his senior ministers. This collar was abolished in 1815.

Although research is made difficult by the loss of the archives, it is known that three women who fought with the army were decorated with the order: Virginie Ghesquière, Marie-Jeanne Schelling and a nun, Sister Anne Biget.[5]

The Légion d'honneur was prominent and visible in the empire. The Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time. The king of Sweden therefore refused the order; it was too common in his eyes. Napoleon's own decorations were captured by the Prussians and were displayed in the Zeughaus (armoury) in Berlin until 1945. Today, they are in Moscow.

Louis XVIII changed the appearance of the order, but it was not abolished. To have done so would have angered the 35,000 to 38,000 members. The images of Napoleon and his eagle were removed and replaced by the image of King Henry IV, the popular first king of the Bourbon line. Three Bourbon fleur-de-lys replaced the eagle on the reverse of the order. A king's crown replaced the imperial crown. In 1816, the grand cordons were renamed grand crosses and the legionnaires became knights. The king decreed that the commandants were now commanders. The Légion became the second order of knighthood of the French monarchy, after the Order of the Holy Spirit.

Following the overthrow of the Bourbons in favour of King Louis-Philippe of the House of Orleans, the Bourbon monarchy's orders were once again abolished and the order of the Légion d'honneur in 1830 was restored as the paramount decoration of the French nation. The insignia were drastically altered. The cross now displayed tricolour flags. In 1847, there were 47,000 members.

Yet another revolt in Paris (1848) brought a new republic and a new design to the Légion d'honneur. A nephew of the founder, Prince Napoleon was elected president and he restored the image of his uncle on the crosses of the order. In 1852, the first recorded woman, Angélique Duchemin, an old revolutionary of the 1789 uprising against the absolute monarchy, was admitted into the order. President Napoleon staged a coup d'état and made himself emperor of the French in 1852.

In 1870 the defeat of the army in the Franco-Prussian war brought another Republic. As France changed, the Légion d'honneur changed as well. The crown was replaced by a laurel and oak wreath. In 1871, during the Paris Commune, the Hôtel de Salm, headquarters of the Légion, was burned to the ground in street fighting; the archives of the order were lost.

In the second term of President Jules Grévy, newspaper journalists brought to light the trafficking of Grévy's son-in-law, Daniel Wilson, in the awarding of decorations of the Légion d'Honneur. Grévy was not accused of personal participation in these scandals, but he was slow to accept his indirect responsibility, which caused his eventual resignation on 2 December 1887.

During the First World War, some 55,000 decorations were conferred, 20,000 of which to foreigners. The large number of decorations results from the new posthumous awards authorised in 1918. Traditionally membership in the Légion could not be awarded posthumously.

The Legion of Honour is a national order of France, meaning a public incorporated body. The Legion is regulated by a civil law code, the Code of The Legion of Honour and of the Military Medal. While the President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order, day-to-day running is entrusted to the Grand Chancery (grande chancellerie).

François Hollande, Grand Master of the Legion since 2012, wearing the gold and red insignia of a Grand Cross.

Since the establishment of the Legion, the Grand Master of the Order has always been the Sovereign or the President of France. PresidentFrancois Hollande has been Grand Master since 15 May 2012 and ex officio, Grand Cross of the Order.

The Grand Master appoints all other members of the Order, on the advice of the Government. The Grand Master's insignia is the Grand Collar of the Legion, worn only by the President of the Republic, as Grand Master of the Order.

Chevalier (Knight): minimum 20 years of public service or 25 years of professional activity, and "eminent merits"

Officier (Officer): minimum 8 years in the rank of Chevalier

Commandeur (Commander): minimum 5 years in the rank of Officier

Grand Officier (Grand Officer): minimum 3 years in the rank of Commandeur

Grand Croix (Grand Cross): minimum 3 years in the rank of Grand Officier

The "eminent merits" required to be awarded the order require the flawless performance of one's trade as well as doing more than ordinarily expected, such as being creative and contributing to the growth of others.

The Order has a maximum quota of 75 Grand Cross, 250 Grand Officers, 1,250 Commanders, 10,000 Officers and 113,425 (ordinary) Knights. As of 2010, the actual membership was 67 Grand Cross, 314 Grand Officers, 3,009 Commanders, 17,032 Officers and 74,384 Knights. Appointments of veterans of the Second World War, French military personnel involved in the North African Campaign and other foreign French military operations, as well as wounded soldiers, are made independently of the quota.

Members convicted of a felony (crime in French) are automatically dismissed from the order. Members convicted of a misdemeanour (délit in French) can be dismissed as well, although this is not automatic.

Wearing the decoration of the Légion d'honneur without having the right to do so is an offence. Wearing the ribbon or rosette of a foreign order is prohibited if that ribbon is mainly red, like the ribbon of the Légion. French military members in uniform must salute other military members in uniform wearing the medal, whatever the Légion d'honneur rank and the military rank of the bearer. This is not mandatory with the ribbon. In practice, however, this is rarely done.

A complete, chronological list of the members of the Legion of Honour nominated from the very first ceremony in 1803 to now does not exist. The number is estimated at one million, including about 2 900 Grand Cross.[7]

French nationals, men and women, can be received into the légion, for "eminent merit" (mérites éminents) in military or civil life. In practice, in current usage, the order is conferred to entrepreneurs, high-level civil servants, sport champions[8] as well as others with connections in the executive. Members of the French Parliament cannot receive the order, except for valour in war, and ministers are not allowed to nominate their accountants.

French nationals initially enter the légion at the class of chevalier (knight). To be promoted to a higher class, one must demonstrate new services to France and a set number of years must pass between appointment and promotion. The acceptance of being awarded the Legion of Honour is not mandatory. The composers Maurice Ravel and Charles Koechlin, for example, refused the award when it was offered to them.

Technically, membership in the Légion is restricted to French nationals.[9] Foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds[10] may, however, receive a distinction of the Légion, which is nearly the same thing as membership in the Légion. Foreign nationals who live in France are subject to the same requirements as the French. Foreign nationals who live abroad may be awarded a distinction of any rank or dignity in the Légion. Foreign heads of state and the wives or consorts of monarchs are made Grand Cross as a courtesy.

Collective appointments can be made to cities, institutions or companies. A total of 64 settlements in France have been decorated, as well as five foreign cities: Liège in 1914, Belgrade in 1920, Luxembourg in 1957, Volgograd in 1984, and Algiers in 2004. French towns display the decoration in their municipal coat of arms.

For active-duty commissioned officers, the Legion of Honour award for service is achieved after 20 years of meritorious service, having been awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite. Bravery awards lessen the time needed for the award - in fact decorated servicemen become directly chevaliers of the Légion, skipping the Ordre du Mérite. NCOs almost never achieved that award, except for the most heavily decorated service members.

Collective appointments can be made to military units. In the case of a military unit, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is a different award than the fourragère. Twenty-one schools, mainly schools providing reserve officers during the World Wars, were awarded the Légion d'honneur. Foreign military units can be decorated with the order, such as the U.S. Military Academy.

The Flag or Standard of the following units was decorated with the Cross of Knight the Legion:[11]

Grand Officier (Grand Officer): badge worn on left breast suspended from a ribbon, with star displayed on right breast.

Grand-Croix (Grand Cross) formerly grande décoration, grand aigle or grand cordon: the highest level; badge affixed to sash worn over the right shoulder, with star displayed on left breast.

The badge of the Légion is a five-armed "Maltese Asterisk" (for want of a better description – see Maltese Cross) in gilt (in silver for chevalier) enamelled white, with an enamelled laurel and oak wreath between the arms. The obverse central disc is in gilt, featuring the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend République Française on a blue enamel ring. The reverse central disc is also in gilt, with a set of crossed tricolores, surrounded by the Légion's motto Honneur et Patrie (Honour and Fatherland) and its foundation date on a blue enamel ring. The badge is suspended by an enamelled laurel and oak wreath.

The star (or "plaque") is worn by the Grand Cross (in gilt on the left chest) and the Grand Officer (in silver on the right chest) respectively; it is similar to the badge, but without enamel, and with the wreath replaced by a cluster of rays in between each arm. The central disc features the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend République Française (French Republic) and the motto Honneur et Patrie.

^Formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre royale de la Légion d'honneur)

^The award for the French Legion of Hono(u)r is known by many titles, also depending on the five levels of degree: Knight of the Legion of Honour; Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur; Officer of the Legion of Honour; Officier de la Légion d'honneur; Commander of the Legion of Honour; Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur; Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour; Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur; Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour; Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur. The word "honneur" is often capitalised, as in the name of the palace Palais de la Légion d'Honneur.

^Pierre-Louis Roederer, "Speech Proposing the Creation of a Legion of Honour", Napoleon: Symbol for an Age, A Brief History with Documents, ed. Rafe Blaufarb (New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008), 101–102.

^Officially military units are not members of the Legion, which include only individuals. As for foreign Legionnaires, they are "decorated with the Legion insignia", not "member of the Legion". Do not confuse military units that received the fourragère to the colour of the ribbon of the Legion of Honour (units quoted at six, seven or eight times in the order of the army with military units whose flag is decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honour